Bills Aim To Protect Military Recruiters

Measures will soon be introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to allow military recruiters to carry firearms or provide security at recruitment facilities.

Current Department of Defense policy restricts active-duty military from carrying guns unless they are specifically working in a security or law-enforcement capacity. This ban effectively makes soft military targets like recruitment offices gun-free zones, leaving them defenseless against attacks like Fort Hood or last week’s recruitment center shootings in Chattanooga.

“The U.S. Constitution guarantees the ‘right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,’ yet our men and women in uniform are being prevented from exercising this constitutional right when fulfilling their duties on American soil,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, said in a prepared statement.

Illinois: New Rules Clarify And Simplify Right-To-Carry Law

Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed legislation to remove some of the vagueness, ambiguity and complexity from Illinois’ Right-to-Carry law, which took effect last year. The original Illinois Right-to-Carry law, which was hastily written after a federal court in 2012 struck down the state’s total ban on concealed carry, contained several onerous provisions that Senate Bill 836, which took effect this month, sought to clean up.

Among other changes, the new legislation clarifies the Right-to-Carry permit application process by establishing that the privacy waiver that applicants must sign applies only to personal records—including criminal and psychiatric history—that directly affect an applicant’s qualification to carry. It adds an appeals process for those wrongfully denied. And it simplifies the legal requirement that a permit holder notify police during an investigative detainment by allowing him or her to show their permit.

Bad Immigration Policy Continues To Produce Violent Crime

In case the Kathryn Steinle murder in San Francisco failed to exhaust your fury over absurd Obama administration immigration policies, here’s another: Dominican Republic citizens and murder suspects Wilton Lara-Calmona and Jose Lara-Mejia have been deported at least once each, and hence were both in this country illegally at the time of their latest crime.

The two are now being held while an investigation continues into the July 4 fatal shooting of Lawrence, Mass., nurse Mirta Rivera as she lay in bed in her apartment. So far, it looks as though the two fired a bullet from a bolt-action rifle through the floor of their apartment.

Lara-Calmona and Lara-Mejia also face drug charges for heroin and cocaine trafficking, and this begs a question beyond immigration and deportation enforcement: At what point will Americans start to insist that gun violence be publicly tied to its preponderant source of drug dealers and drug purchasers?

Legal Challenge Converges First And Second Amendments

The Tracy Rifle and Pistol shop in Tracy, Calif., features large vinyl decals of an AR-15 rifle and a .45-caliber in its windows. That’s not surprising by itself. What is surprising is that one of those images is considered illegal, thanks to a 92-year-old state law that prohibits gun stores from advertising handguns.

When owner Michael Baryla was issued a citation and ordered to remove the photos, he responded by filing a lawsuit against Attorney General Kamala Harris. “What the attorney general is really saying, without expressly saying it, is that the right to free speech is OK except when it’s about guns, because guns are bad,” said Bradley Benbrook, Baryla’s attorney.

While the case winds its way through the legal system, Baryla promises creative solutions if forced to remove the images. Meanwhile, it’s likely that California legislators will continue to enforce antiquated laws that restrict First and Second Amendment rights.

Home Invader Looking For Woman Finds Armed Citizen Instead

A 55-year-old Corpus Christi man was at home early Monday morning when 40-year-old Robert Smith forced his way inside. Upon finding the homeowner, Smith accused him of assaulting a woman and claimed that the homeowner was holding her unlawfully. He then grabbed the homeowner by the throat and demanded to search the home.

As the two walked through the residence, the homeowner was able to retrieve his pistol and force Smith out of the house. Once outside, however, Smith choked the homeowner again, prompting the homeowner to fire several warning shots into the air. Smith then attempted to regain access to the home, and the homeowner fired at him, striking him once in the leg.

Smith was arrested for burglary of habitation with intent to commit aggravated assault and is being treated at a local hospital. According to police, no woman was found in the house, and the shooting is being treated as self-defense.

Restaurant Owner Wins Battle Against Armed Robbers

A restaurant owner in Montebello, Calif., was shot during an early morning robbery attempt on Saturday, but managed to fight back and fatally wound both of his assailants to put an end to the attack.

According to a police statement about the incident: “The preliminary investigation has determined both suspects were armed with handguns (and) attempted to rob the victim. During the robbery, one of the suspects fired multiple shots at the victim, striking the victim once. The victim, a local business owner, returned fire, striking both suspects.”

The business owner is expected to survive his injuries. Officers found one of the wounded suspects at the scene suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, while the other suspect was discovered around the corner, suffering from one gunshot wound.